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 Title History:
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title (1):
NWA International Jr. Heavyweight Title (1):
Tournament History:
- IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title #1 Contender Tournament (2003): Ryusuke Taguchi & Hirooki Goto beat Masahito Kakihara & Masayuki Naruse (10:24) when Taguchi used a horizontal cradle on Kakihara.
Signature Moves:
- Cross armbreaker
Profile: During his high school days, Hirooki Goto was a friend of Katsuyori Shibata. Like Shibata, he excelled at amaresu (freestyle and Greco-Roman styles), and received a high ranking prize during his days at Kokushikan University. After graduating from university, he passed a test to enter New Japan. However, he quickly left after suffering a serious shoulder injury, which sidelined him long-term. In November, 2002, he re-challenged New Japan's admission test, and passed it once more, entering the dojo. In July, 2003, he finally debuted, facing Ryusuke Taguchi in Gifu. Shortly after debuting, he entered the junior division, forming an upstart team with Taguchi. After incredibly quick progress, Goto began a gradual push into the heavyweight division. His victory over Team Alliance's Hiroyuki Ito in the 2005 Young Lion Cup showed he was ready to hit the next level, and two months later he captured the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title with Minoru at the Tokyo Dome, pinning junior legend Koji Kanemoto. In 2006, Goto left New Japan for a lengthy learning excursion to Mexico, and upon returning in August, 2007, was a changed man - a big, strong heavyweight, who instantly began pinning names. One of the many amaresu stars to join New Japan in recent times, Goto is a major prospect for the company, with the credentials to make a name for himself one day. He already shows a great deal of talent and ability, and is without doubt one of the most natural young talents in many years.
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